'Frustrated' firm blocks tip entrance

A business blocked an entrance to a tip out of "pure frustration" after repeated issues with traffic queues.

Taya Reeve, executive manager at Drain Wise, said they decided to park a van blocking the entrance to the Great Northern Terrace Household Waste Recycling centre in Lincoln on Monday, because queues for the tip were causing delays accessing properties on the industrial estate.

She said businesses were "not getting anywhere" in resolving the issue, despite petitions and "multiple meetings with councillors".

Lincolnshire County Council blamed good weather for increased demand at the tip and said it was looking at ways to minimise disruption.

On Monday, the queue for the tip almost reached half a mile (0.8km), prompting staff at the drain cleaning business to make the "very off the cuff" decision to park the vehicle in the entranceway.

"This was borne out of pure frustration for our business, that we're not getting the support from the local council," Reeve said.

"We feel like we've done all the official routes and we're not getting anywhere.

"We do feel really let down by the council. We've done petitions, we've had multiple meetings with councillors, meetings with the waste team. Nothing has come to light. There's no light at the end of the tunnel."

Lincolnshire Police said officers were called to the tip at 11:00 BST following a report of the entrance being blocked.

A force spokesperson said those involved moved from the area shortly after officers arrived, and no arrests were made.

George Dring is a director of HD Fluid Power Ltd, which started trading on the industrial estate in January.

He said he would have set up shop elsewhere if he had known about the traffic issues on the estate.

"It's causing us quite a few problems at the moment," he said.

"We're losing business. People are seeing traffic queued up to the train line and they're turning away."

A county council spokesperson said, during peak periods, some of its busiest recycling centres, including Lincoln Great Northern Terrace, see more than 900 vehicles in a single day.

"We understand this exceptional demand can have an impact on visitors and local businesses alike, and our on-site teams greatly appreciate their patience while they help people to dispose of their waste as safely and efficiently as possible," they said.

"We continue to monitor demand at Great Northern Terrace and across all our sites, exploring ways to speed up the process and minimise disruption."

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